Strategic Innovation Fund: Cultivate Grants

Activities: What can I apply for?

This component only supports collaborative projects that are undertaken in partnership with one or more organization, collective or group of artists. Partners must be actively involved in the governance and decision-making process of the project. To be eligible, projects must stretch beyond a personal gain or benefit to you, your group or organization and be able to demonstrate potential impact for the broader arts sector or a broader target community. Partnerships are not limited to the arts sector and we encourage cross sectoral collaborations with shared investment for shared benefit.

Proposed projects should explore a concrete solution to a clearly identified systemic issue experienced by the arts sector. This component supports all phases of project development and implementation. To be eligible, projects must include a piloting, prototyping, testing and/or implementation phase. This must be clearly outlined in your application submission.

Eligible activities

Projects must respond to one or more (maximum of 3) of the following key strategic areas:

• Strengthening the resilience and sustainability of the arts sector, including new business and revenue models
• Advancing social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts
• Increasing the accessibility of arts and culture for people who are Deaf or have disabilities
• Decolonizing the arts sector
• Creating a greener arts sector
• Stimulating the digital transformation of the arts sector
• Improving the health, wellbeing, and financial security of artists and arts professionals
• Building networks and partnerships to strengthen the arts ecosystem and the role of arts in society
• Amplifying the benefit of the arts for thriving communities

Ineligible activities 

• regular and ongoing operating activities 

Projects that primarily focus on artistic professional development, development and presentation of festivals, symposia, conferences, or other similar events, creating, producing, programming or presenting artistic work should seek support through the Council’s regular funding programs. Costs related to professional arts training, content creation, artistic creation and media production are subject to limits and must be justified and relevant to the delivery of your project.

You can’t apply for activities that occur before the deadline, those that receive funding from another Canada Council program or those on the general list of ineligible activities.

Applicants: Who can apply?

Types of eligible applicants to this component include: 

• artists and arts professionals  
• cultural connectors 
• artistic groups and collectives 
• artistic organizations 
• First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists, arts/cultural professionals, cultural carriers, groups, collectives, and organizations 

Organizations presently receiving core grants are eligible to apply to this component.

Your eligibility to apply is determined by the validated profile created in the Canada Council portal.

Targeted funding will be in place to ensure equitable support for applicants who have self-identified using the checkboxes in the Council’s portal as belonging to one of the Council’s designated priority groups, which include applicants from culturally diverse, Deaf and disability, official language minority, and Indigenous communities.

In addition to the Council’s designated priority groups, we also encourage applications from youth (18 to 35) and other historically underserved and marginalized communities, including 2SLGBTQI+ and gender-diverse communities, women, and artists at intersections of multiple identities.

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